By Nadia Scharf
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Rising Phoenix program, one of a series of programs for nontraditional students that have boosted the university’s enrollment, received a major funding boost in the most recent state budget.
The additional million-dollar budget provision will allow the program, which provides students with dual-enrollment opportunities, to expand, said state Sen. Jamie Wall, D-Green Bay. It will also provide increased dual-enrollment access for students in rural school districts.
“This is what a university should be doing,” UWGB chancellor Mike Alexander said at a Sept. 10 news conference. “We should be making sure that we’re helping students find their route in education.”
The Rising Phoenix program allows students at participating local high schools to enroll in both their high school and UW-Green Bay simultaneously. Students will take courses at UWGB that earn college credit and meet high school graduation requirements, meaning participating students could graduate from high school with an associate’s degree. Classes taken at UWGB through the Rising Phoenix program appear on both high school and college transcripts.
Between 130 and 150 more students will be able to participate in the program starting in fall 2026; as of this fall, about 610 students are enrolled. In the Green Bay area, students at Bay Port High, Oneida Nation High and any Green Bay School District high school can apply for the program. Homeschool students can also participate.
Students with an associate’s degree can continue on to a four-year college or enter the workforce.
Above all, Alexander said, programs like Rising Phoenix help students find success locally. About 35% of students who participate in the Rising Phoenix dual-enrollment program attend UWGB, and about 60% more attend another school in the UW system.
Students who attend UWGB are more likely to stay in the community; Alexander estimated that 75% of students stay in the community after graduation.
“We know if you’re educated here, if you came through school here, you’re more likely to want to contribute back to your community. And that’s what a university should be doing,” Alexander said.
UWGB’s enrollment has increased while other schools in the UW system have seen enrollment declines; Alexander pointed to UWGB’s focus on nontraditional students and experimental programs as a key to that puzzle. In addition to Rising Phoenix, the university also piloted a direct admission program in 2023 that nine other UW institutions took up a year later.
Source: UW-Green Bay dual enrollment program will expand with $1M state budget-funded boost